Chris Lombardi puts defense and security under the spotlight, as he shares his takes on recent NATO and EU cooperation and provides insight into the company’s own long-term strategic partnerships in Europe.

Three trends are currently driving the global electricity sector: decarbonization, decentralization and differentiation. Utilities are making significant contributions to mitigate carbon emissions, while a technology revolution is …

Meglena Kuneva, the European commissioner for consumer protection, has warned that she is prepared to take action against airline companies that give misleading information to consumers, unless “credible improvement” is achieved over the next year.

The warning came following a survey carried out in 13 member states that revealed widespread use of illegal practices by airlines and tour operators that sell tickets online.

Of 137 sites checked, 79 were guilty of adding on extra charges not included in the price initially shown to the consumer, such as taxes, booking fees and credit-card charges.

A total of 67 sites had irregularities relating to contract terms, such as missing details, pre-checked boxes offering travel insurance or details being presented in another language. Another problem identified was that it was sometimes very difficult, if not impossible, to find where to go on a site to take advantage of an advertised special offer.

Speaking during a press conference, Kuneva acknowledged that over 50% of the irregularities have been corrected since the practices were identified. She stressed, however, that problems remain, notably when it comes cases requiring cooperation between member states. Kuneva noted that, in cases where national authorities flagged up an airline or tour operator who was breaking the law, but was based in another member state, the member state responsible usually did not take action. Only 12% of such cases had been resolved at the time the European Commission compiled its report on the survey. “That is not good enough,” Kuneva said. “I expect more from cross-border cooperation”.

Kuneva announced that a further check (or sweep) of websites by national authorities will take place this year, with all 27 EU member states taking part. She also said that an evaluation would take place in May 2009 to see if the necessary improvements had been achieved. She said that the state of progress at that point “will be decisive for whether further measures are necessary or not”, stressing that “we will need to see credible evidence of improvement to clean up these sales and marketing practices within the airline sector by 1 May next year, or we will be left with no choice but to intervene.”

She noted that, in addition to being illegal under existing EU consumer protection law, some of the practices would also be coved by new legislation scheduled to come into force in the autumn. This will set more explicit requirements that companies selling airline tickets must provide consumers with clear prices.